HUES SPRING 1998




Gun Control:
Women Tattoo Artists Talk About Skin and Ink

By Silja J.A. Talvi





	For the past twenty years, Leslie Mah's greatest loves in life
have been "tattoos, boots and rock 'n' roll." Elaborately tattooed over
much of her own body, Mah, 32,  recalls a pivotal conversation several
years ago with a male tattooer who urged her to "stop looking for the
ultimate, rad girl tattoo artist. Just be her." 
	That conversation led Mah to jump at the chance to begin tattooing
over two years ago at San Francisco's all-woman tattoo studio, Black and
Blue Tattoo. Artistic, articulate and passionately devoted to their
careers, women tattooers like Mah are on the cutting-edge of modern-day
tattooing. By exploring new and unique tattooing styles, as well as
perfecting the art of "traditional" tattooing, women tattoo artists have
finally begun to assert roles of distinct prominence in a field which has
always been dominated by men. 
	Although women in the United States have been tattooing in small
numbers since the beginning of the early 20th century, many of the
earliest female professionals gravitated toward tattooing because of their
marriages to male tattoo artists. With few exceptions, these women
tattooers rarely received widespread recognition for their work. But over
the last decade, tattooing emerged from the 'underground' to become more
widely respected and understood as a legitimate art form. Concurrent with
this trend, the work of women tattooers began to receive more attention
through tattoo magazines, women's tattoo conventions and art exhibits.
"People are beginning to realize that this is a form of art, and clients
are looking for something unique," explains Robin McClarren, who hosted
and co-curated "Annie Get Your Gun, " an one-of-a-kind women's tattoo art
exhibit at San Francisco's Place Pigalle. Featuring the paintings,
drawings and tattoo art of 11 local women, the exhibit highlighted an
amazing variety of styles, images, and interests of the participating
artists. "It really is an old-school man's world," says McClarren in
reference to tattooing. "I was interested in showing what women artists
immersed in an industry both dominated by males and male imagery were
doing."
	And people, it seems, are noticing. Female tattooers point to the
fact that most studios in major cities like San Francisco now have at
least one female tattooer. "I think there are a lot more women working
than people realize," offers Madeline, a gregarious and outgoing
28-year-old tattooer whose desire to see "new places" has taken her all
over the world. Having worked in at least ten studios and seven cities
including Berlin, New Orleans, Portland, Houston and Dallas (where she
works at Parodice Tattoo), Madeline, who only uses one name, admits that
she must still deal with the initial surprise of some clients who "come in
and think I'm a receptionist." 
	Laura Saadati, the only female tattooer at San Francisco's Primal
Urge Studios, entered the profession almost four years ago with full
knowledge of the "boy's club" aspect of tattooing. Rather than focus on
the occasionally cold or indifferent treatment she receives from other
male tattooers, Saadati, 28, pursues her career path without allowing such
behavior to affect her. "There are definitely people out there who are
totally cool, men who treat me as an equal, and that's who I associate
with," she shrugs.
	Like Saadati, the women involved in tattooing express an
overwhelmingly positive affection for their chosen careers. "I've been
dreaming about this for a long time. Since I was 15, I just wanted to do
art. That's what I wanted to be paid for doing, whether it's sitting in my
studio or drawing for my clients," explains the soft-spoken, 27-year-old
Sunny Buick. In addition to her work at Goldfield Tattoo Studio, one of
the most established and "traditional" tattoo shops in San Francisco,
Buick was also responsible for co-curating "Annie Get Your Gun."	
	Buick and other female tattooers readily attest that tattooing is
one of the few professions which allows artists to earn a consistent,
decent living. But beyond the money that they earn, women tattooers also
enjoy the benefits of working in supportive studio environments, meeting
interesting clients and honing their artistic skills on a daily basis.
"Everyday is different [and] you never quit getting better," says
Madeline. "No matter how good you're doing, you can always do better, and
so there's always that drive to improve your work."
	Women tattooers share a profound understanding of the significance
of tattoos to their clients. "I get to be a part of a really important
step in someone's life, " explains Mah enthusiastically. "I get to help
them do something that is really important and permanent. A lot of the
people I tattoo, they've been thinking about it [for a long time] and it
signifies something special." 
	As tattooing has gained a certain amount of popularity and
acceptance, many clients have specifically sought out women tattooers. "I
think it's really important to have a woman in the shop," says Buick. "It
balances everything out, because some people really prefer to be handled
by a woman. They feel more comfortable." According to Buick, about half of
her clients are women, a statistic which is echoed by many other women
tattooers.
	But Buick, who likens finding the right tattoo artist to "finding
your shaman," doesn't believe that tattoos are for everyone. As a result,
she tries to make a connection with each of her clients, as if to sense
the significance of the tattoo to their lives. "I think it's important
because sometimes tattooing is a complete milestone in someone's life or
something that changes them and turns things around for them. Some people
shouldn't get tattooed and they think 'Oh, this would be kind of cool.'
They come in and they go about it completely the wrong way." 
	The inevitability of dealing with difficult, drunk or intransigent
clients count among the most significant challenges facing all
professional tattooers. According to Madeline, one of the most common
misperceptions about tattooers is that "we'll tattoo anybody, anywhere,
anything, anytime." But this, she explains, is simply untrue. Professional
tattoo artists work by a strict code which, for instance, prohibits the
tattooing of persons under the influence. Saadati explains that it can
also be a huge challenge to struggle with a client over a design which the
artist knows will not look right as a tattoo. Furthermore, many artists
refuse to tattoo swastikas, white power and "property of" insignias, or
other designs they consider to be offensive.	
	Female tattoo artists tend to view tattooing as having deep
meaning not only for their clients, but also for their own lives. Buick,
Saadati, Madeline and Mah are all heavily tattooed themselves, in
altogether different styles and traditions. Born to an Irish Catholic
mother and a Chinese Muslim father, Mah, who is also a guitarist for the
punk band Tribe 8, has found tattooing to reinforce her pride in her
identity as a mixed-race woman and as a lesbian. Her tattoos include
Catholic and Irish imagery, a Chinese dragon and other symbols of her
ethnic and spiritual heritage. "Going from the 'invisible girl' to the
'illustrated woman' is something that tattoos have done for me. I can look
down at myself and say 'That's who I am.'" 
	When Saadati, who is half-Persian, began to tattoo professionally
and acquire more tattoos on her body, her parents expressed immediate
concern. "They wanted to think it was a phase," she explains. Eventually,
Saadati's parents reconciled themselves to her career and to her prominent
tattoos, which include Persian-influenced designs. "They've seen the way I
conduct my life. I'm not living some wacky, alternative lifestyle, doing
crazy, weird, perverse stuff that maybe that they had associated with
[tattooing]. I think their minds are eased at this point," she says.
	Despite the emergence of tattooing as a more respected art form,
many people continue to hold such stereotypical perceptions of the
appearances and lifestyles of tattoo artists. "A lot of people have the
misconception that it's a big burly biker dude that will tattoo you,"
states Buick. While biker tattoo shops continue to exist all over the
country, Buick and her fellow artists represent another aspect of the
tattooing business. For these artists, intimidation and attitude have no
place in the studio. Many female tattooers have extensive background in
painting and drawing, in addition to college degrees in the arts. So it is
understandable that Madeline bristles at the notion that tattooers are
still perceived as "dirty, uneducated, sleazy, no-moral-type people."  	
	The truth about these women, and so many others in their field,
couldn't be further from that perception. Tattooing, as each woman
emphasizes, is all about the passion of creating art while making an
honorable living. As Madeline professes, tattooing is the most personally
and professionally inspiring career she could have possibly chosen. After
all, she explains, "there are so few people in this world who enjoy what
they're doing and make a living at it."